A downtown location of the club TAO opened in September beneath the Maritime Hotel and has been a magnet for celebrity events. The massive space—22,000 square feet, spanning a city block—was designed by Rockwell Group and has Asian-inspired details such as a dragon scale-patterned screen, Chinese calligraphy murals, and two 16-foot-tall Buddhas, one of which is a canvas for 3-D projection mapping technology. The restaurant seats 400, including 300 in the main dining room and two "Sky Box" areas overlapping the main dining room that each seat 20. Two private dining rooms seat 10.
The New York Palace is finishing a $140 million renovation, opening six dining venues, two redesigned lobbies and specialty suites such as Champagne Suite (pictured) this fall. Two of the new eateries come from chef Michel Richard, marking the Washington, D.C.-based chef's first ventures in the city. They are the French market and café Pomme Palais, as well as the fine-dining restaurant Villard Michel Richard, an opulent space that combines the landmarked interiors with modern elements such as the glass-walled "wine cube" in the middle of the dining room.
Michelin-starred chef Paul Liebrandt opened the Elm, a contemporary French restaurant, at King & Grove Williamsburg hotel in Brooklyn in July. The buzzy restaurant, with an interior from Parts and Labor Design, features a living green wall, exposed beams, and polished concrete. The dining room and bar seat 73, and a private dining room seats 20. An eight-seat chef’s counter adjacent to the open kitchen, called Little Elm, serves a multicourse tasting menu.
Opening this week, Hyatt Times Square New York is a new-build hotel with 487 rooms and 2,400 square feet of meeting and banquet space connected to a 1,400-square-foot terrace. Its rooftop bar on the hotel's 54th floor will be the highest in the city and will have views of the Hudson River, the Freedom Tower, the New Year's Eve ball, and other landmarks. It will seat 80 inside and 65 outside. The street-level restaurant, a diner concept called T45, will seat 90 and will serve three meals with vegetarian and gluten-free dishes. The restaurant, from George Wong Design, also has its own photo booth.
Ten years after Marquee opened, the Chelsea mega-club has a new life following a multimillion-dollar renovation in January that created a new entrance, reconfigured the interior, expanded the stage, and upgraded the audiovisual experience to a Funktion-One sound system that can be synced with images on a massive LED screen and five moveable rigs of LED lights. The 1,200-person club already has hosted several corporate events, which can take over the entire venue or two smaller areas, the mezzanine or a main-floor alcove room dubbed “the Boombox.”
Atop the 12-story NoMad Hotel, the rooftop offers all-weather event space with views of the Empire State Building. The rooftop has an 850-square-foot indoor space that seats 40 banquet-style, 50 theater-style, or 75 for receptions. On the northwest corner, a restored turn-of-the-century cupola seats 10 for private dinners. In warmer months, the hotel offers its 1,100-square-foot outdoor space for events of as many as 105 people. The LEED silver-certified rooftop has its own full kitchen and an herb garden.
Opened this summer, Monarch is an indoor-outdoor space on the 18th floor of a Midtown Manhattan building. With Scandinavian decor designed by Natalia Todorova of Gwathmey, Siegel, Kaufman & Associates Architects, the 5,000-square-foot space has floor-to-ceiling silk curtains framing a view of the Empire State Building. Monarch holds 300 guests and is available for buyouts.
The new Extreme Wow Suite at the W New York—Times Square is a high-energy party venue. The hotel suite is designed to double as a reception space with room for 85 guests spread over its 1,200 square feet. Much of the furniture has double uses, such as the mirrored console in the entry that functions as a DJ booth and a buffet in the boardroom that is also a bar. The design reflects the Times Square location with features such as a light fixture that looks like a deconstructed Times Square mirror ball, bar glasses decorated with peep-show performers, custom wallpaper of images of Broadway ticket stubs, and framed art featuring Elmo and other costumed characters. Located on the 57th floor, the suite offers views of Times Square, Central Park, and the Hudson River. The suite connects to a double room that serves as a staging area, and catering is available from Blue Fin, the hotel's restaurant.
Already a favorite among food critics, the tapas bar Toro opened in September. The Chelsea restaurant seats 140 in the dining room or holds 300 for receptions. With 18-foot windows, the space feels airy and has communal tables, reclaimed wood paneled walls, exposed brick, and an ivy-lined wall. A bar seats 20.
The Midtown restaurant Betony, which opened in May, recently garnered three stars in The New York Times and Esquire's "Restaurant of the Year" accolade. It includes a private dining room on the lower level for as many as 30 guests, as well as a semiprivate dining room on the mezzanine that seats parties of as many as 30. For a larger celebration or corporate event, the restaurant offers buyouts for parties of 125 guests.
